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Correlational findings

Study Hershfield et al. (2013): study US San Francisco, California 1994

Public
18+ aged, general public, San Francisco, California, United States, followed 10 years, 1994-2005
Survey name
Unnamed study
Sample
Respondents
N = 312
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
After demographic assesments respondents completes a questionnaire on physical health, happiness and cognitive ability. On an electronic pager participants completed the emotion response questionnaires each time they were paged, 5 times a day at random times. After completion of the week-long data collection they returned to the lab for a follow-up interview, after which they were debriefed and paid for their participation.

Correlate

Authors's Label
Negative health symptoms
Our Classification
Remarks
Respondents completed the CMI 3 times. Regression with full sample: n=312.
Distribution
Level: M = 6,63, SD = 4,64
Change: M =0,54, SD = 0,57
Operationalization
Cornell Medical Health Questionnaire (CMI) Respondents reported whether they suffered from 40 symptoms of age related illnesses on the following fields:
a: sensory (e.g. "Are you hard of hearing?")
b: cardiovascular (e.g. "Do you have pains in the heart or chest?")
c: muskeloskeletal (e.g. "Are your joints often swollen?")
c: genitorinary (e.g. "Do you sometimes lose control of your bladder?").

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks A-AB-mi-mq-n-7-a Beta = - Same time correlation with affect  level
- Positive emotions: Beta=-.07
- Negative emotions: Beta=+.11
A-AB-mi-mq-n-7-a Beta = - CHANGE health complaints by CHANGE affect level(Average of change T1-T2, T1-T3 and T2-T3)
- Positive emotions: Beta=-.15
- Negative emotions: Beta=+.06

Increase in  health complaints goes with lowering of affect level.


Affect Balance not reported.Direction of correlation with health complaints estimated by WDH team on the basis of correlation with positive and negative affect separately

Beta's controlled for age at entry

Unaffected by additional control for:
- mixed emotion (correlation between positive and negative affect)